This invention relates to a production line for electric motor or generator subassemblies. (As used hereinbelow, the word "motor" should be understood to include both motors and generators.) In particular, this invention relates to a production line for electric motor components such as armatures or stators. More particularly, this invention relates to a production line for manufacturing more than one variation of a particular type of electric motor component--e.g., more than one variation of armature or more than one variation of stator.
Either type of electric motor component can come in different variations. These variations can be in size (either in length or diameter) or in other characteristics--e.g., number of arms in the case of an armature or number of poles in the case of a stator. Although the various steps and types of machines needed for assembling the different variations are the same, in most cases they must be adjusted differently for each variation. Thus, with presently known production lines only one variation of the particular type of electric motor component being worked on can be made at any one time.
As a result, the production of different variations of a particular type of electric motor component requires either an investment in multiple production lines so that different lines can operate at the same time to produce the different variations, or significant down-time while various machines on the production line are adjusted or changed to produce a different variation.
It would be desirable to be able to provide a production line capable of producing more than one variation of a particular type of electric motor component.